Bloc member who lost by 1 vote considers ‘all options’ after report of ballot issue
The Bloc Québécois candidate for the Montreal-area riding of Terrebonne says she’s evaluating her options after a judicial recount that saw her lose by a single vote.
Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné’s statement comes as Elections Canada investigates a possible error involving an uncounted mail-in ballot from a Bloc voter in the Terrebonne riding.
Voter Emmanuelle Bossé told Montreal media that she mailed in her ballot in early April using an addressed envelope provided by Elections Canada, but it was returned to her as undeliverable.
Elections Canada says it appears that part of the postal code printed on the envelope was wrong and that it’s working to gather more facts on what happened.
Liberal Tatiana Auguste was declared the winner over Sinclair-Desgagné by a one-vote margin after a judicial recount, in an election that returned the Liberals to power with a minority government on April 28.
Both parties declined to comment, and Sinclair-Desgagné’s statement did not specifically mention the uncounted ballot.
“Following a judicial recount that caused a vote reversal as spectacular as unexpected, I owe it to myself to evaluate all the options before us,” Sinclair-Desgagné wrote on Facebook on Monday, adding, “I’ll keep you updated on the next steps.”
Auguste was initially projected to win the riding by 35 votes after the election, but Sinclair-Desgagné, who was first elected in 2021, moved ahead by 44 votes following the required postelection validation process.
The win was returned to Auguste on Saturday following the judicial recount, with Auguste receiving 23,352 votes and Sinclair-Desgagné receiving 23,351.
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